Tuesday, April 2, 2013

1923 Model T by Christina Rich

 Last month I shared pictures with you from part of a Great Gatsby opening ceremony. It was held at one of our strip malls, where my daughter takes dance. The girls did all sorts of jazzy moves while surrounded by cars from the era.

Here we have a 1923 Ford Model T. Now before you all go think I'm pretty smart about the cars I'm going to let you know right up front that I cheated. There was a place card on the hood stating the year and model. :)

I believe this is called the Touring model, but I can't be too sure.

 There were a few things to like about this car. It's a landau, or is it a convertible? Or are they one and the same? Hmmm, I guess it doesn't matter as long as I can enjoy the fresh air and sunshine on such a beautiful spring day.
 I found these wheels absolutely fascinating. I guess I thought once cars came into production all their wheels were alloy. Guess I was wrong. If you look closely you'll see that the spokes aren't individual. The entire wood center is carved.

Something to note, although the natural wood looks all nice and peachy, the wheels didn't come off the assembly line looking like this. Nope, the wood would have been painted all black. I guess this style causes a point deduction in modern competitions.
 I wish I would have gotten a closer shot. The dash and gauges were so simple. Don't think you'll find Sirius radio in this cruiser. In fact, it doesn't look like there is a radio at all.

I wonder what songs they sang as they took in the countryside.

 I'm an upholstery gal. Well, kind of. I'm married to an upholsterer and after years of him checking out booth seats at whatever establishments we ate at, I kind of picked up the habit.

I'm not quite certain that the actual fabric is original to the car. In fact I'm pretty positive it isn't since there doesn't seem to be any cracks. However, after digging through some pictures, thanks to Google, I discovered the channel design is a detail some of the Model T's sported.

Electric lights, a silver Ford emblem and a 1923 Kansas tag. Something that caught my eye is how small in diameter that front axle is and how stiff the springs look. I wouldn't want to hit any winter potholes while riding in this beauty.

I hope I've been able to give you a glimpse of 1923. I think pictures always help to give a great visual.

Next month, will be my last on the cars from The Great Gatsby era. I've saved my favorite for last. Come back and you'll see why. For now, I want to leave you with this picture of this lovely young couple who attended the Great Gatsby Gala held at The Great Overland Station here in Topeka, KS.

The gala teamed with young and old alike. There were young girls out on the floor. Young men strolled along the outskirts, covertly looking for a dance partner while the band stuck up the next tune.

These two, I just adored watching them. While their friends giggled as they were smoked by the older folks spinning around the floor to the Charleston, these two barely moved, their eyes glued to each other.

Even though their close, slow dancing probably wouldn't have been too acceptable, the obvious affection they held for each other took me back to a time much simpler than 2013.

 
Born and raised in Kansas, where she currently lives with her husband and children, Christina loves to read stories with happily ever afters, research,  take photos, knit scarves, dig into her ancestry, fish, visit the ocean, write stories with happily ever afters and talk about her family and Jesus.
A semi-finalist in the Genesis, she recently signed a contract with Love Inspired Historical for a Biblical romance slated to debut March 2014. You can find her at http://christinarich.wordpress.com/

15 comments:

  1. Love this! One of my stories takes place in 1923 and this reminds me of the fun time I had reading about these. Can't wait to see your fav next month!

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    1. Piper, what a fun era to write. I haven't read too many books from this era. In fact, I don't think I've ready anything in this era outside of my cps.

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  2. This this so cool I read the great Gatsby.
    Thanks for sharing this

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  3. I admire the detail that goes into car restoration. Thank you for bringing this to us today. My mother has told me memories of her neighbor's Model A. By the time she was born in 1937 it would have been a classic. She was more accustomed to the cars with the rumble seats. She tells us how fun it was to ride in the rumble seat (and dangerous, I imagine) up Yonkers, NY's tall hills in her sister's boyfriend's car. What an age.

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    1. Wow, Kathleen, those are stories to keep, aren't they?

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  4. "I hope I've been able to give you a glimpse of 1923. I think pictures always help to give a great visual. ... Even though their close, slow dancing probably wouldn't have been too acceptable, the obvious affection they held for each other took me back to a time much simpler than 2013."

    I, too, love the photos, especially being visual, while reading, seeing and smelling the flowers... Great images. This post was very interesting to me in the details. And, Miss Christina, I can just envision you with the gauze scarf covering over your hair and blowing in the wind in that luxury vehicle! The dates caught me too ~ 1923 and 2013, 90 years apart ~ what will be said of the current times? What a fun post. Thank you. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
    lanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net

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    1. I knew everyone was dressing up for the gala. When I got there I wished I had and I know hubs would have enjoyed it. He loves dancing. And riding in that car would have been so much fun!

      Thank you for stopping by.

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  5. Christina, great post! I love these old cars. I don't know much about them, I just love the look of them. The gala sounds like a lot of fun, even though I'm not much of a dancer. Just watching everyone else would have been exciting. Thanks for sharing! God bless.

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    1. Debbie, I'm like you, I love to look. I probably wouldn't have even blogged on them if I wasn't thinking about all my author friends who do write in this era.

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  6. I adore these old cars! In the summer and fall, my husband is always dragging me to car shows and I generally find myself drawn to the old Model Ts. Thanks for the neat pictures and information, and for taking us back to a simpler time. I agree, the young couple is too cute. I can see how they would have lent an extra air of romance to the gala. :)

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    1. Ramona, I think I'm going to have to attend more car shows. We have a friend, Big Dave, who does body work on older cars and does fabulous work. I know he attends some of the car shows.

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  7. Christina, what a beautiful old car! Thanks for this glimpse into a more gracious age.
    Blessings, Laurie Kingery

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  8. Christina, That has to be so much fun going to these old car shows. It's got so much style and class! Thanks for sharing with us!

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  9. Love the wooden spokes on the wheel - sure am glad the auto was invented, but the older ones surely gave very bumpy rides - even though they were a vast improvement over the horse & buggy (in more ways than one).

    bonnieroof60@yahoo.com

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